Issue 1 - December 2009

Transcription

S UNDINGS
Quarterly Journal of Marine Rescue NSW | Issue 1 December 2009
Unique Rescue at
Port Macquarie...p7
The Cottage Point
of View...p13
NSW VHF network
to get backbone...p26
Fund raising
in Ballina...p8
2009 Volunteers
Memorial Service...p15
New look on
Tuggerah Lakes...p34
100% commitment
at Port Stephens...p11
Marine Rescue
Photo Gallery...p20
BBQ$ at Bermagui...p35
Nights in Narooma...p39
Welcome from
the Marine Rescue
Commissioner...p3
Print Post
No: PP255003/09617
SOUNDINGS MARINE RESCUE NSW
Issue
1 Dec 09
1
Full page Advert: 182 x 269
S UNDINGS
What’s
on board
Welcome
from the
Marine Rescue
Commissioner
3
Cover photo
Port Macquarie Rescue One
Steber 34, LOA 10.5m, Beam 3.8m, Draft 1.2m, 2 x 300HP
Yanmar Turbo diesels, radar, depth sounder, marine radios,
Speed (max) 30 knots, range 300nm
Editorial
Editor: Ron Cole
PO Box 6058 West Gosford NSW 2250
Tel (02) 4324 8742 or 0401 143 840
soundings@marinerescuensw.com.au
Member and unit contributions are requested, particularly stories
and photos of unit rescue activities. A monthly unit contribution
of 500 words is expected from all Marine Rescue NSW Units
Letters to the editor are welcome and should, where possible, be
kept to around 200 words.
Design, Layout and Content by the
Publisher, Marine Rescue NSW
Printing, Binding and Mailing by Galloping Press Pty Ltd
Unit 29/398 The Boulevarde, Kirrawee NSW 2232
Advertising - Statewide Magazines Pty Ltd
P O Box 1000, Gladesville NSW 1675
Tel: 02 9817 7364 Fax:02 9879 7325 Mob: 0414 319339
Email: statemags@bigpond.com
Web: statewidemagazines.com.au
© Copyright Volunteer Marine Rescue New South Wales.
Reproduction in whole or part is strictly prohibited without
permission from the Publisher.
MARINE RESCUE NSW
Volunteer Marine Rescue New South Wales
ABN 98 138 078 092
Locked Bag 5503
Camperdown NSW 1450
Tel: 02 9968 4183 Fax: 02 9969 5214
E: admin@marinerescuensw.com.au
www.marinerescuensw.com.au
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The Editor’s Desk
From the Commissioner
We’ve hit something ….
Government helps Batemans Bay
Unique Rescue at Port Macquarie
Fund raising in Ballina
Hawkesbury Canoe Classic record
Fisherman dies in Capsize
100% commitment at Port Stephens
The Cottage Point of View
2009 Volunteers’ Memorial Service
CBT push on at Sydney
Recognition at Central Coast
Turn Right at Terrigal
Just another day at the office
Marine Rescue Photo Gallery
Terrey Hills breaks radio record
Ski boat burnt to waterline
Ulladulla prepares for Australia Day
It pays to have First Aid training
Kioloa on the Rocks
VHF radio getting some backbone
Event-filled months at Coffs Harbour
Zip Lock your Mobile
Winners of Medina Hotels Competition
Marine Radio call saves man and boat
Commissioner at RMYC
New look on Tuggerah Lakes
BBQ$ at Bermagui
More members at Ulladulla
Lake Macquarie’s 59th
Nights in Narooma
CBT at Sydney
Rescue Sunday at St Michaels
SOUNDINGS MARINE RESCUE NSW Issue 1 Dec 09
1
From the Editor’s desk
By Ron Cole
Welcome to the first issue
of Soundings, the new
magazine for all rescue
volunteers who have chosen
to join Marine Rescue NSW
The purpose of the magazine is also
to highlight the activities of each unit
of MRNSW. Therefore it will rely on
contributions made from each unit, covering
its full range of activities over a three month
period. This should include all aspects of a
unit: recruitment, training, operations (both
In seamanship, “Soundings” is the process of radio and rescue vessels), social, community
obtaining essential information to ensure safe activities and fund-raising. It should be easy
to write 500 words about all that, just four
progress through new or unfamiliar waters.
times a year. That’s only half a page.
Meeting the same objective, ‘Soundings,
your new magazine, will bring you essential Readers are welcome, and indeed are
encouraged, to contribute photos and articles
information about Marine Rescue as the
about marine rescue and all aspects of being
organisation develops and grows to achieve
involved as marine rescue volunteers. If you
its vision to be recognised as the premier
have an idea about what you would like to
marine rescue service in Australasia.
see in the magazine please don’t keep it to
The magazine is free and will be mailed
yourself, email or phone with details.
direct to each member four times a year, in
March, June, September and December.
As editor it is my job to ensure that
Soundings will bring you a regular flow of
the essential information you need to know
about Marine Rescue NSW. It is my job
to ensure that this is informative, accurate,
entertaining and relevant both for members
and the advertisers who support us.
2
Letters for publication are also welcome,
critical or otherwise.
For many of us, the move to a unified marine
rescue organisation covering the whole of
NSW has been a long-time dream and its
arrival is most welcome. Frederick Douglass
wrote “If there is no struggle, there is no
progress”.
That is true of MRNSW and even now,
despite the goodwill of all involved, progress
sometimes seems to be exceedingly slow.
However, if you just stop and think about
it, you will realise how much work has to
be done. Just to establish a new company
is difficult, but to bring together and satisfy
the interests of three existing and successful
marine rescue organisations while each
continues to operate, and to form a new
organisation where the personnel are entirely
volunteers with the exception of one part
time paid staff member at this time, is even
more complicated.
Those involved are to be congratulated on
their efforts and the progress that has been
made to date. We know it has been difficult,
with minefields all along the way. We look
forward to hearing their stories in coming
months.
We hope you enjoy the magazine and ask
you to pass it on to others outside MRNSW.
Maybe just leave it in a waiting room to
substitute for one of those ancient tomes that
breed in such places.
Ron Cole
Commissioner’s Column
Welcome to the new look!
S
Simply
because we can achieve more as a single
u
unified
organisation, than as three separate,
m
mildly
affiliated groups competing for funding
a public support.
and
T is a commonsense decision with both the
This
n
needs
of the boating community as well as the
v
volunteers’
welfare and support at the forefront
o all decisions made.
of
Glenn Finniss
Commissioner, Marine Rescue NSW
Welcome to Soundings, the
official magazine of Marine
Rescue NSW.
What an exciting period this is for Marine
Rescue, not only in NSW but also at the
national level. After being involved with the
NSW Police Force for over 30 years, with 29
years in the marine search and rescue field, I
am justified in saying that the development of
Marine Rescue NSW will be the pivotal turning
point for Marine Rescue Volunteers, not only
within this State but all around Australia. Why?
A lot of behind-the-scenes development has
o
occurred
over the last few months which will
a
allow
us to commence the operations of Marine
R
Rescue
NSW. Here is just some of what we
have been doing.
training, development and public education
needs and budget planning. An integral part of
the process will be that some of these teams will
be going to each unit for local input towards
their goals.
The purpose of these teams is to take off
the blinkers of the past and bring to Marine
Rescue NSW other valuable ideas, insights
and experiences to mesh with the good ideas
from the previous organisations and develop a
clear, well-planned path to the future for Marine
Rescue NSW.
We are building an environment that not only
We have developed a Strategic Plan that sets our assists the organisation but also provides tangible
benefits for the volunteers as well. As an example
vision to be the premier marine rescue service
of this, we approached four leading banks about
within Australasia, and are presently building
our banking requirements and asked them “what
a Business Plan to reach that goal. We have
can you do for us”, rather than simply being
established strategic teams that bring together
descriptive of our banking needs. From this
not only the talent from key people within
we not only have the best banking solutions
the existing organisations but key members
for the organisation, but we have a bank that
of other government and non-government
recognises the value of the volunteers through
agencies, assisting us to develop in areas of
offers of reductions in home loan interest rates,
Communication, our IT needs, Marketing/
home insurances and other direct benefits to the
Media, Uniforms, Finance, Banking, Rules
volunteers and their families. Full details of these
development and our Standard Operating
benefits will be provided shortly.
Procedures. These teams are also looking at
(continued p4)
our future rescue vessel fleet requirements, our
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3
Commissioner’s Column continued
“a simple thanks will never
suffice to recognise your
invaluable contribution”
Nationally, Marine Rescue NSW will be
represented on a newly formed National
Volunteer Marine Rescue Committee, recently
endorsed through the National Search and
Rescue Council. The National Search and
Rescue Council is the recognised national
Council of Australian SAR Authorities. The
new Committee will bring together all of
the States’ Volunteer Marine Rescue groups
to develop synergies in communications,
offshore tracking, national sponsorships,
fundraising and open new government
funding opportunities. It will also allow all
the organisations to commence developing
national strategies for marine rescue in the
future and it gives the volunteers of NSW the
avenue to be truly represented and recognised
at the national level once and for all.
In addition, New Zealand Marine Search
and Rescue will be invited to attend. This
will bring a wealth of experience and an
international perspective of our global region
to the Committee.
There are so many new and exciting
opportunities being presented to Marine
Rescue NSW every day, with new
sponsorships, other organisations offering
assistance and new membership applications to
name just a few. The path for Marine Rescue
NSW is clear and it will be a shining example
to all involved in marine rescue nationally.
Stay tuned to our webpage for more positive
developments for Marine Rescue NSW as well
as the wider Marine Rescue community.
Special Thanks
There are a lot of people I wish to thank in relation to bringing the concept of a single
unified Volunteer Marine Rescue organisation in NSW to fruition. First and foremost, I wish
to thank those dedicated volunteers who have pioneered volunteerism in the marine rescue
arena within NSW. These are the people who with foresight, vision and passion, established
the three volunteer marine rescue groups that we have had in NSW serving the boating
public over the last 72 years. These three organisations have formed the solid foundation
upon which Marine Rescue NSW will grow and it is extremely important that we recognise
their contribution.
I wish to thank the various government agencies, including the NSW Maritime Authority,
especially Brett Moore, General Manager Recreational Boating and its CEO Steve Dunn,
for their unfailing and generous support, and the NSW Police Force, Marine Area Command
staff, their Commanders past and present and Sgt Tony Hill, who have all given so much
assistance to the volunteers, and importantly, Commissioner Scipione for his patronage and
continued support for Marine Rescue NSW.
I would also like to thank the various members of government and their staff who have
supported the concept of a single marine rescue volunteer agency. Steve Whan MP, Michael
Daley MP, Diane Beamer MP, and a special thank you must go to Joe Tripodi MP who had
the fortitude to make the decision to commence us on the road to unification. Without his
continued effort Marine Rescue NSW may never have been launched. In addition, I would
like to thank Barry O’Farrell and his team in The Opposition for their bipartisan support for
this concept.
To the present members of the Board of Directors of Marine Rescue NSW, whose lives have
been divided between their devotion to their original organisations and their commitment to
the vision that Marine Rescue NSW represents; you guys have been truly inspirational and a
simple thanks will never suffice to recognise your invaluable contribution.
I would also like to express my gratitude to the numerous partners and organisations from
outside the area of marine rescue that have given their time and support; Kay Cottee AO, the
Boating Industry Association of NSW and the Boat Owners Association to name but a very
small few.
Most importantly I would like to thank the thousands of marine rescue volunteers and their
own supporters. Your continued determination to remain in marine rescue within NSW,
your growing excitement and enthusiasm for the new organisation’s development and your
acceptance of some change that comes with it, has been absolutely a humbling experience.
A very big thank you to each and every one of you.
Glenn
Glenn Finniss
A/Commissioner
Marine Rescue NSW
Marine Rescue NSW livery designs roll out
Water side of Sydney HQ Building\
4
Forster-Tuncurry Lake Vessel
New Tuross Naiad RHIB
“ We’ve hit
something
and we’re
taking on
water ”
Russ Holland on the job at the
Coffs Harbour Radio Base
After watching Hogwarts Express (no, Harry
Potter wasn’t seen on board) set off from Coffs
Harbour at midnight on Friday October 23, I
thought that it would be quiet from now until
at least 5am when the early fishers headed out.
I couldn’t have been more wrong. The vessel
Lunar Breeze called Coffs Harbour at 2.45am
and the voice sounded urgent. Peter the skipper
was saying that they had hit something about
15nm north of Coffs Harbour and were taking
on water.
The training kicked in and so did the
adrenalin. First thing – What’s your GPS
location? What’s your heading and speed?
Are you in immediate danger? How many
on board? Are you all OK? Great, now we
can move you to a working channel.
Fortunately we had a Tracking Sheet for
Lunar Breeze so we had all their details and
combined with the initial information, knew
exactly where they were, who they were and
where they were heading.
Now the wonderful part of the job, waking up
the Search Master at 3 o’clock in the morning!
After a couple of calls with Search Master
and the Water Police, the task fell to the Water
Police to get a crew together and head north
urgently!
A critical part of our job in these situations
is to keep in contact with the stricken vessel.
Firstly to be kept abreast of their changing
situation and secondly to keep the skipper
assured that he is our number one priority and
we are doing something about getting him
immediate assistance. On board conditions
were worsening. The water was now filling
the yacht and was about 50cm deep and rising
about 15-20 cm every 30 minutes. The bilge
pump was nowhere near keeping up. The
skipper was concerned about the yacht rolling
over in the swell. They deployed their dinghy
just in case.
“The water was now filling
the yacht and was about 50cm
deep and rising about 15-20
cm every 30 minutes”
Another yacht, Sydney Sundancer, some
5nm away from Lunar Breeze, called
offering assistance. We then had a running
update as they closed on their position ,
4nm...3nm...1.5nm...they have them in sight
and sat off their stern about ½nm. This was
great comfort to the skipper. To see another
vessel and know if the worst were to happen,
help was immediately available, and this
certainly gave us great comfort too knowing
there was someone else with him. Sydney
Sundancer wasn’t the only one. Red Undies,
(gotta love vessel names) was about 10nm
away and offered assistance, so they were
also on standby. Then another vessel offered
assistance, The River Embley, a 600ft bulk
carrier, amazing, they were all listening and
ready to render assistance.
The Water Police crew on board Fearless were
on their way. Communications are kept up with
all vessels in the area so everyone knows what’s
going on. In reasonably quick time Fearless is
on the scene and transfers a crew member and
salvage pump. Lunar Breeze was able to limp
under her own steam back to Coffs Harbour
with Fearless keeping her company.
At 2-3 knots it was a long 3-4 hours before
they made it to the slipway safe inside Coffs
Harbour. Normally overnight watches can be
quite lonely, but on this night I had a buddy
with me - my 12 year old son Sam - to see
what Dad does ‘up at the base’. He woke
in the middle of the night to hear all this
activity going on and was amazed at what was
happening. What a fantastic experience for
him to see first-hand the very important work
that the Coastal Patrol members do for our
boating community.
Russ Holland
Coffs Harbour
5
NSW Government helps out
at Batemans Bay
Marine Rescue livery design guide
South Coast Marine Rescue volunteers
received a welcome boost with the arrival
of an ex-NSW Maritime Authority Sailfish
7200, donated by the Rees NSW State
Government. It was previously used in
Port Hacking and Botany Bay by the NSW
Maritime Authority.
The Sailfish 7200, an aluminium catamaran
powered by two 150HP Honda engines,
arrived at Batemans Bay by truck on
Thursday November 5 after being repainted in MRNSW colours and fitted
with electronics and safety equipment at
NSW Maritime’s headquarters at Rozelle.
The vessel has been fitted with the latest
technology including an Icom M505 VHF
DSC radio, Tait VHF DCN radio, GME
GX300 27 MHz radio; a Furuno networked
2kW radar, chart-plotter, GPS and sounder, as
well as a Class B AIS.
Great Circle Marine has added a
new life saving device – the Rescue
Streamer – to its already impressive
range of life rafts and other safety
equipment.
Wonderfully simple, but highly
effective, the Rescue Streamer™
Distress Signal attaches to people or
life rafts providing a continuous, highly
Person with PFD (life-jacket) only
The survivor wearing a PFD and Rescue
visible pointer to where you are that can
Streamer can clearly be seen
be seen over a mile away and works
at an altitude of 500 feet.
until you’re found.
The Rescue Streamers are marked
There are two types of streamers; one for
with the international distress signal and have
personal use and one for use in boats, kayaks,
sealed air-filled struts to keep them open on land
vehicles and aircraft. The Rescue Streamer™
and afloat in the water. They are light-weight and do
Survivor is the size of a mobile phone and designed
not need batteries, or depend on electronics or
for personal use. With its built-in clip, it attaches to
pyrotechnic devices to let rescuers know where you
clothing, life vests or PFD’s. On release in an
can be found.
6
“This vessel will be a valuable addition
to the Marine Rescue volunteers on the
South Coast and uses the most up-todate equipment available for this class
of vessel,” said the Commissioner of
MRNSW, Glenn Finniss, “I thank the
Rees government for their assistance in
providing this vessel and also thank the
Coastal Patrol for funding its fit-out.”
The unit commander at Coastal Patrol
Batemans Bay, Rob Bowmaker, thanked the
State Government for providing the vessel,
as well as those at Marine Rescue NSW
headquarters who spent time organising the
fit-out and delivery of the vessel.
emergency, it will deploy to its
full 7.62 metre length as it floats
with the current.
The Rescue Streamer™
Mariner is 12.2 metres long but
stows into a remarkably
compact unit. It’s great for
offshore cruising or fishing as
as
remote
land
Close up of Rescue well
destinations, and it’s ideal for
Streamer showing
life rafts on boats or aircraft and
international
all emergency kits.
distress signal
The streamers are a
worthwhile, low cost investment that may save a life.
More details available from Great Circle Marine on
1300 306 381 or check out the website
www.greatcircleliferafts.com.au
<http://www.greatcircleliferafts.com.au
A Unique
Rescue
Crown Rescue One
in new Marine Rescue livery
At 06:00 on September 5, the 6.0m
recreational fishing vessel Unique, left Port
Macquarie with 3 POB for a day’s fishing.
Their intended fishing location was some
24nm (40Kms) north east of Port in 400m
of water, an area they had fished many times
before. There was a moderate southerly
blowing with conditions described as
uncomfortable.
Port Macquarie Sea Rescue instigated a ‘Sked’
system some years ago, where every vessel
that has logged on is called at 09:00, 13:00
and again at 17:00 to check on the safety and
welfare of the vessels at sea, so if there is
a problem, SAR procedures can commence
sooner rather than later. The vessel had logged
on with Port Macquarie when it departed
with an ETR of 16:00. They answered both
the 09:00 and 13:00 Skeds and reported no
change. At 16:00 when the vessel failed to
advise its return to Port, attempts were made
to contact the vessel. This proved unsuccessful
and at 16:30 it was declared an overdue vessel
and appropriate procedures initiated. A check
at the boat ramp found the vessel’s owners’ car
and boat trailer.
Port Macquarie has developed a system of
calculating the set and rate of the current
on any particular day after past incidents
involving lost divers and a capsized vessel.
Experience and training with this system were
put into place and an estimated position was
calculated using worst-case scenarios. Rescue
One was activated and sent to a position some
22nm east-south-east of Port Macquarie Bar.
Conditions had deteriorated during the day
and the southerly had increased to 20-25 knots
with 3-4 metres of sea running.
“The vessel was lying on its
side completely awash with
three persons in the water.”
At 21:30, and after more than two hours
steaming, Rescue One hove to at the
estimated position in 435m of water and
began conducting their drift test to ascertain
the current. The test takes at least ten minutes
however the longer the test can run the more
accurate the results. At the fifteen minute mark
the skipper, who was on the fly bridge, reported
seeing a ‘small red light’ in the distance. The
test was suspended and the vessel proceeded
to where the light was last seen. After thirty
seconds the crew of Rescue One heard the
calls, yells and whistles of the crew of Unique.
Turning on the rescue vessel’s spot light
revealed an absolutely amazing sight.
The vessel was lying on its side completely
awash with three persons in the water. At
21:50 they had been found. Picking up the
survivors in the rough conditions was achieved
by throwing a rope and hauling them to the
rescue vessel.
“The three crew members had
spent seven hours and twenty
minutes in the water”
All three had mild to moderate hypothermia
and two were unable to walk due to their
time immersed in the water. First aid was
administered and due to the conditions and
distance offshore a decision was made to
abandon the vessel. Unique had capsized
at 14:30 due to the combined effects of the
shifting of their fish catch and the free surface
effect of taking on water from a wave. The
three crew members had spent seven hours
and twenty minutes in the water and they had
drifted 13.5nm at an average speed of 1.8
knots. The rescue vessel returned to Port at
23:50 to be greeted by anxious relatives and
paramedics from the ambulance service.
The survivors are eternally grateful.
Geoff Shelton
Port Macquarie
Footnote: Since this incident, Port Macquarie
has altered its ‘Sked’ to every three hours instead
of four and also now ask each vessel when leaving
Port to advise the depth of water in which they will
be fishing.
Editor: It also highlights the vital importance of
logging-on with your local Marine Rescue unit each
time you are on the water.
.
7
Fund raising
in Ballina
) )
)
)
) )
) )
Commander Norm Lannoy
with Sandra Jackson,
local radio presenter
from Paradise FM
Fundraising is the constant companion of all volunteer groups and
Australia is fortunate to have a generous culture that recognises
the needs of volunteers who are there because they recognise the
needs of their communities. In every town and city the residents are
always willing to find an extra dollar or two for the sausage sizzle,
collection bucket or fund-raising raffle.
&
&
&
! !$**!'$
$!&&!
$
!$
!!
!&%
!
&&
Ballina Flotilla of Australian Volunteer Coast Guard has an annual
raffle to enable it to cover the costs of everything from the lowly
paperclip to the fuel for the rescue rescue vessel.
Usually we raffle a boat and trailer to go with the nautical theme,
but this year we changed to raffling a car instead as our traditional
raffle sales were dwindling. It was a good decision. Even with the
financial downturn we still made a profit in 2009.
"
A few of the many Ballina Flotilla members in front
of the prize car at a local shopping centre.
Sailing the high seas?
Icom’s new MXA-5000 AIS receiver allows
you to plot a safe course for your voyage.
For more information go to:
www.icom.net.au
or call Icom on 1300 135 779
8
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Record field for 2009
Hawkesbury Canoe Classic
On the weekend of October 24/25 the 33rd
Annual Hawkesbury Canoe Classic took
place, with over 600 competitors tackling
the gruelling 111 km course from Windsor to
Brooklyn. Paddlers began departing Windsor
between 4pm and 6pm. The conditions were
ideal throughout Saturday - warm with very
little breeze and overnight light cloud cover
ensured the temperature did not drop too
much.
The first boat home was crewed by Jack
Ward and Mick Carroll in the men’s 40+
Long Recreational Kayak Division in a
record-breaking time of 8 hours 10 minutes.
The last paddler arrived at Brooklyn at
11.57am on Sunday, exactly five minutes
before the southerly change dumped 50mm
of rain in one hour on the Sydney basin.
Coastal Patrol Hawkesbury once again
managed the Safety Network for the event,
with 20 checkpoints along the river as well
as search and rescue vessels, ferry gate
control vessels and water ambulances placed
at strategic intervals. All communications,
including paddler progress reports, event
management and emergency responses, were
directed to a dedicated communications
centre established at Seven Hills. It reported
to both Canoe Classic representatives
and Coastal Patrol Hawkesbury’s mobile
command vessel Mooney Rescue.
Finish line for the Hawkesbury 2009 Canoe Classic
First aid and physiotherapy stations were
located at the four major land checkpoints to
provide timely and effective treatment of any
injuries sustained by competitors along their
journey. Due to the good conditions, only
a few cases of hypothermia were reported
and only one paddler, with a combination of
hypothermia and a lower back injury, was
transported to hospital as a precautionary
measure.
Coastal Patrol Hawkesbury acknowledges
the invaluable support provided for this
Fisherman dies
in boat capsize
Sapphire Rescue returning with tinnie in tow.
event by the NSW SES, NSW Police, NSW
Maritime Authority, WICEN (Wireless
Institute Civil Emergency Network), Red
Cross Mobile first aid detachments, Pink
First Aid, NSW Sports Physiotherapy,
The Arrow Foundation, The Prostate
Foundation and the dozens of other volunteer
organisations that provide 500 volunteers
each year to ensure that the Hawkesbury
Canoe Classic remains the safest event of its
type in the world.
Andrew Ward, Hawkesbury
Police are investigating the death of a
fisherman in a boating incident that occurred
at around 09:30 on Nov 11, off Haycock Point
south of Merimbula. A male fell overboard
from a 14ft aluminium boat some 300m from
Haycock Beach. A second fisherman on board
was attempting to pull his friend back into the
boat when it capsized.
After the capsize, the second fisherman
managed to swim his friend to the beach and
raise the alarm. Local Police, Eden Water
Police and the NSW Ambulance service
attended, later confirming that the man who
fell overboard was deceased. The second
fisherman suffered minor injuries and was
treated at the scene.
Coastal Patrol rescue vessel, Sapphire Rescue,
attended to assist the land-based Water Police
members. She was tasked by the Water
Police to assist in the recovery operation that
lasted around 4-hours. Merimbula Division
Commander Barry Harrison said “It was a
very tricky recovery operation that ended
with the return of the capsized vessel to the
Merimbula boat ramp.”
Peta Jenkins
Merimbula
9
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10 SOUNDINGS MARINE RESCUE NSW Issue 1 Dec 09
Port Stephens members make
100% commitment to MR
Port Stephens is excited that
100% of our operational
members, (radio and boat
crews), have applied for
membership of Marine
Rescue NSW.
40ft yacht beached in
gale force winds ….
During the past 3 months we have been
measured for the new uniforms and we
eagerly await their delivery. Our smaller
rescue boat, Codi-K, is in the new livery, and
we expect to complete a similar paint job on
the 16.7m ARUN Class Danial Thain within
the next 6 months.
We are experiencing an increase in our
workload with the onset of warmer weather.
The winter period, though relatively quiet,
has been well spent on maintenance of boats,
general upgrading of equipment in the radio
room as well as training and education –
in line with the continual reminder ‘Get
ready for the boating season’. Of course
that is a reminder of what is in store in a
locality where the population triples over the
December/January holiday season. Waterbased activities within the Bay as well as
offshore can build to around 150 – 200 log
ons per day!
There have been a couple of incidents over
the cooler months. The first was a search and
rescue involving both our rescue vessels to
locate a person missing from a tinnie off the
Heads in early August. A MAYDAY call was
received at 3am on Saturday August 1, when
a fisherman fell overboard from a 5-metre
vessel en route to Broughton Island. The
man and his 50-year-old friend had launched
the boat at Little Beach at 12.30am and had
headed off for Broughton when one of them
fell asleep. He awoke at around 3am to find
the boat was behaving erratically as there was
no one at the helm.
“After more than 4 hours in
the water he was extremely
lucky to be found alive”
He immediately issued a distress call, turned
the boat around and commenced re-tracing
his route but found it difficult to find his
fishing buddy in the dark. A search and rescue
operation was immediately commenced and
involved Water Police, Coastal Patrol vessels
Danial Thain and Codi-K, Coast Guard
vessel Dealquip and the Westpac Rescue
Helicopter
The Water Police, upon reaching the fishing
vessel, were able to
reverse plot the course
from its GPS and this
aided the rescue vessels
to narrow the search area
for the missing man who
was not wearing a life
jacket. He was lightly
nditions coupled
clothed and in the dark conditions,
with low air and water temperatures, offered
rescuers little optimism of being able to locate
him. At 7.20am the helicopter crew spotted the
man about 4Km offshore and east of Cabbage
Tree Island. He was winched safely out of the
sea, after more than 4 hours in the water he
was extremely lucky to be found alive. He was
suffering from the effects of severe exposure
and hypothermia and was treated by the onboard paramedics whilst being transferred to
John Hunter Hospital.
Ron Lighton, from Coastal Patrol, boarded the
fishing vessel, where the second man, clearly
distressed from the ordeal, required assistance
to helm the boat. Lighton took control of the
vessel and with the Codi-K, escorted it safely
back to port. The crews of all vessels stood
down at approximately 9.30am.
The second incident was to recover a 40-foot
yacht beached because of gale force winds
during the dust storm that hit the east coast on
September 23. The vessel had been moored
… and successfully refloated by
the crew of “Danial Thain” with no
damage evident
on a public mooring outside the Nelson Bay
marina harbour and had ‘let go’ with the
intention of seeking shelter inside the marina.
However, she could not make way due to the
increasing wind strength and unfortunately
ended up on the beach.
NSW Maritime had to abandon its attempts to
recover the vessel that afternoon as the winds
had not abated. The Danial Thain recovered
the vessel on the high tide the following
morning.
Fortunately, the yacht’s crew were safe and
the vessel did not seem to have suffered any
damage. She is continuing her return journey
to Fremantle in Western Australia.
R.A. Young
PR Officer
Port Stephens
11
50 Years at the Electronics Forefront
2009 is a significant milestone for
Standard Communications PTY Ltd. Australia’s
largest and most successful communication
electronics manufacturer celebrates its’ Jubilee
Birthday. Founded in 1959 by the
entrepreneurial engineer E.C (Ted) Dunn, the
company continues to set the standard for
innovation and value for money in Australia
and right around the world.
Much has changed in the electronics
industry since those formative years, concepts
like microprocessors, liquid crystal displays
and satellites that are common place today
were purely the domain of Hollywood and
science fiction writers in 1959. Throughout the
evolutionary process GME has remained at the
forefront of the Australian communication
electronics industry, through a substantial
ongoing investment in research and
development, the establishment of a state-ofthe-art engineering, manufacturing and
distribution facility in Sydney, GME products
are as valued and relevant in 2009 as they were
back in the 50’s and 60’s.
The GME marine division of Standard
Communications is globally recognised for its
multi-award winning range of digital
emergency beacons, EPIRBs (Emergency
Position Indicating Radio Beacons) and PLBs
(Personnel Locating Beacons). The first of
these ground breaking devices, the MT400
debuted internationally at METS in 2004,
receiving a ‘Special Recommendation’ by the
DAME award committee. The MT400 was soon
to be followed by additions to the beacon
product line including water activated, auto
release, personal and GPS equipped models,
ensuring GME’s position as a major supplier of
COSPAS SARSAT beacons.
GME also develops and manufactures
marine communications, including 27MHz and
VHF, also a class D DSC VHF radio, which as
with all its’ radios is the slimmest on the
market, which means it can be fitted into
dashboards that don’t have a lot of room
behind them. GME also has a full range of
marine entertainment products, which includes
a CD/radio system in a marine housing that has
the ability to play MP3 via USB or SD cards,
and also has Ipod * connectivity **. Also
available is an optional wired remote (RCU
9200) upto two remotes can be added. To
compliment this system GME has a full range
of marine speakers and a high output marine
amplifier.
In 2009 GME is increasing its ever growing
portfolio of marine products with the launch of
a new range of marine antennas, these
antennas will be sold as two separate parts, the
base assembly and the antenna whip. The base
is unique as it will be suitable to VHF, 27MHz,
and broadcast antenna whips. The base can
also be configured as either a versatile double
swivel or compact single swivel depending on
the customers’ requirements. The antenna
whips are manufactured with performance in
mind and come in either a 1.8m or 2.4m
length, with a white fibre glass outer to give
protection against the harsh marine elements.
GME has also been addressing the boaters
needs, and are proud to announce that in 2009
they will be launching a GPS plotter with some
excellent features. The GP450X GPS navigation
system has a 4.5 inch screen that comes with
an external 12 parallel channel receiver. The
GP450X is a cost effective solution for a
compact, full featured plotter suitable for any
coastal, fishing or pleasure craft. The stand
out feature on this compact unit is the clarity of
the 4.5” monochrome silver bright LCD which
boasts a pixel resolution of 240w x 160h. The
plotter also has seven different screens to
ensure you get to your destination, the unit is
easy to use, and comes with a bracket for
simple dash mounting, and flush mounting is
also an option with the unit.
GME are continually striving to bring the
discerning boater the best in Safety,
communication and entertainment, for more
information go to www.gme.net.au, or call 02
9844 6666.
*Ipod is a trademark of Apple Computer Inc.
**Optional extra lead required (LE023)
MT403FF
(WITH GPS OPTION)
MT400
MANUALLY
ACTIVATED
MT403
(WITH GPS OPTION)
WATER/
MANUALLY
ACTIVATED
6 Year Battery Replacement
6 Year Warranty
406 MHz with
121.5 MHz Homer
Faster Detection Times
Made in Australia
A Division of
www.gme.net.au
SYDNEY (02) 9879 8888
PERTH (08) 9455 5744
MELBOURNE (03) 9798 0988
ADELAIDE (08) 8234 2633
BRISBANE (07) 3278 6444
AUCKLAND (09) 274 0955
M126
FLOAT FREE
CONTAINS
MT403
The Cottage
Point of View
The Cottage Point Coast Guard team was
kept busy over the first weekend in November
with numerous assistance tasks ranging from
flat batteries, faulty engines and routine tows
around Broken Bay.
On the Saturday, one hapless boatie found himself in difficulties off
Lion Island when his brand new, fully outfitted 5.0 m runabout
suffered a total power failure that saw him drifting out to sea. The
duty team responded quickly and towed him into the shelter of
Barrenjoey Head. Despite jump-starting him, his batteries were so
low in charge that his engine failed again. A check discovered that
his new motor wasn’t delivering any charge to his batteries, so the
boat was towed back to the safety of the Bayview Boat Ramp.
The vessel owner was very grateful for the assistance, but less
complimentary about the charging fault on his brand new boat!
The biggest challenge for the weekend occurred on the Sunday
afternoon. At 13.20 a call came in from Broken Bay Water Police
requesting help to locate and assist a 36’ yacht with engine failure.
The vessel was experiencing heavy seas off Whale Beach. The duty
team immediately responded in CG31, a 9.0m Category 3 Sailfish
rescue vessel, to search for the yacht. They met up with the Water
Police vessel WP49, a Markham Dominator, at Flint and Steel
Point, before proceeding to sea. However, in the rough conditions
the Police vessel was unable to continue to the open sea and CG31
ploughed on alone through the 2.5m seas in search of the yacht.
“A check discovered that his new motor
wasn’t delivering any charge to his batteries,
so the boat was towed back to the safety of the
Bayview Boat Ramp”
The 36’ sloop, Kahlua, was eventually located about one nautical
mile north east of Lion Island under reefed sail heading for the
Brisbane Water entrance channel. After ensuring all onboard were
safe and well, CG31 shadowed her to the vicinity of Little Box Head,
where her sails were dropped and she was taken under tow.
Both vessels then proceeded through the tight Brisbane Water
entrance channel bound for the calm waters of Hardy’s Bay. Kahlua
was safely delivered to her mooring by mid afternoon, much to the
relief of the grateful owner who was full of praise for the efforts of
the CG31 crew. Skipper Chris Perdue lauded the efforts of his crew,
Michael Kielty and Peter Liccioni, who had performed very well in
the rough offshore conditions.
While the Coast Guard team was the first on the scene, rescue
vessels from the Coastal Patrol bases at Broken Bay and Gosford
also attended this incident to help search and recover Kahlua. The
quick response of the Broken Bay marine rescue community to this
dangerous incident was a timely reminder to the boating public that it
is well served by dedicated and trained volunteers in time of need.
David White
Commander,
Ku-Ring-Gai Flotilla
13
The Volunteers Memorial is a
reverent collaboration of many Arts
On January 1, 1999 the Premier of New South Wales, the
Honourable Bob Carr MP, announced that a memorial would be
established to honour the emergency service volunteers of New
South Wales, particularly those who have lost their lives as a result
of that service.
The fine tradition of Australians who generously serve their
community has often evoked responses from artists to celebrate that
service. The memorial to volunteers of the Emergency Services of
the State is a collaboration of many branches of the Arts.
Master stonemason, George Proudman, proposed that a “scuntion”,
a single massive piece of stone, would eloquently represent the
strength and durability of the volunteers. The architect, Richard
Leplastrier, embraced this concept in the elegant, simple design for
the memorial, in partnership with the Department of Public Works
and Services project manager, Ron Powell, and the Government
Architect, Chris Johnson.
The 60 tonne scuntion bears the markings of the giant saw the
ingenious Stratti Family used to cut the stone from the bedrock at
the “Hell-hole” Quarry in Pyrmont. A team of stonemasons from
the Department of Public Works and Services, led by Alf Pires,
carved a perfectly horizontal plane as the celebratory tableau.
Potter, Andrew Halford, sensitively responded with a bowl to serve
as a “font” to sit upon the tableau. The bowl is stored in a special
box when not in use and can be transported to distant corners of
the state to form the centrepiece of regional ceremonies. Cabinetmaker, Jeffrey Broadfield, has crafted the box from venerable
timber from River Red Gums which have lain under the banks of
the Murray River for more than 10,000 years.
The inscriptions in the stone are the work of a team of letter cutters
led by Gordon Brown, who is also a volunteer fire-fighter. The words
include Judith Wright’s poem “Landscapes”. Frail health precluded
this great poet from writing a new work for the memorial. Publisher,
Tom Thompson, generously granted the copyright for this work,
which she had written some four decades earlier.
Peter Sculthorpe adapted Wright’s words into a poignant
musical composition, flexibly scored to allow its performance at
ceremonies by a single voice or groups of performers. The original
score rests on a shelf in the Broadfield box and will also travel for
use at distant ceremonies.
2009 Memorial
Service Message
The 2009 Emergency Service Volunteers
Memorial Service was, held at Mrs
Macquarie’s Chair, The Domain, Sydney
on Sunday October 25. Senior Officers
of the marine rescue groups were
represented. Those attending included:
Coastal Patrol: CDRE Peter Phillipson ESM, CDRE Michael
Stringer ESM OAM, CDRE Simon Denneen, CDRE Sharyn
Gillings ESM, CAPT Malcolm Milliken, CMDR Rev.
Richard Wrightson, CMDR Pat Fayers, LCDR Margaret Teal,
LCDR Richard Hargrave. Colour Party from Broken Bay &
Sydney Divisions.
All involved donated some of their time and effort in appreciation of the
service rendered by the volunteers. It is indeed rare that in a single work
so many layers of the Arts have come together to form such a strong
collaboration.
The Memorial was dedicated by Her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir
AC, Governor of New South Wales, at a service hosted by the Honourable
Bob Debus MP, Minister for Emergency Services, on June 3, 2001.
Coast Guard: CDRE Frank Robards ESM. Colour Party - John Finn, Michael
Kielty, Maureen Sullivan.
VRA - Marine: Marine Sub-Committee Chair, Inspector Bill Carter,
Mrs Kerrie Carter, Gary Raymond APM, OAM, Ms Debra Scanes
ESM, Binalong. Colour Party - John Boyd, Murray Region; Shayne
Vanderhride, Corowa; Trevor Milgate OAM, Central Coast; Stuart Dye,
Albury; Cath Drahiem, Sydney; Vikkii Wallis, Binalong; John Butchman,
Penrith; Alison Young, Binalong; Tony Greenwood, Binalong; David
Gibbs, Albury; Scott Breen, Casino.
Marine Rescue NSW: Commissioner Glenn Finniss
The Memorial Day address was given by Chaplain Gary Raymond
APM, OAM, NSW Volunteer Rescue Association. He said, (in part),
“God specialises in caring for grieving people. You and I are under His
specialist care. So today, let’s trust God with our cares as we remember our
heroes who paid the ultimate price to save others. For that we stand tall in
admiration for them and those they left behind. We will always remember
them and honour their final act of volunteer service when they performed it
without thought for their own lives. Thank you so much to those here today
who allowed your heroes to do their volunteer work, even at the greatest
cost to you personally”.
15
CBT push on
at Sydney
Sydney’s B554 on her new floating dock
Things have been fairly quiet on the water
so the winter months have been spent
formalising members’ qualifications through
the CBT system.
This has kept our Subject Matter Experts and CBT Assessors busy,
resulting in a flow of mail to and from RR+R, our Registered
Training Organisation. We have been pushing to get as many
qualifications verified as possible. It is pleasing that a whole new
bunch of Marine Rescue Skipper Level 1s has qualified in time for
the busy season. We now have our own instructors for Marine First
Aid Courses and Sea Survival.
With radio traffic these days handled by Terrey Hills, we have little
radio traffic other than talking to the lifeboats on VHF DCN. To
gain practical radio experience for those seeking CBT qualification
valuable assistance is provided by Terrey Hills.
In preparation for the summer months our 44’ Waveney lifeboat
has been cleaned and anti-fouled, and at long last our second
lifeboat, an Atlantic 21 RHIB (and our basic workhorse), has a
new floating dock. It is indeed an impressive sight as the vessel
docks, seeing her rise out of the water at about thirty degrees until
tipping forward at her point of balance. Docking procedures are
not complex but training is definitely required.
There have also been some management changes within the
Division in the last few months, with new appointments for
Division Commander, Administration Officer, Education &
Training Officer, Boat Master and Marine Radio Safety Service
Officer.
We are all looking forward to the change-over to Marine
Rescue NSW.
Tony Whybrow
Division Commander
--
- ((+(&-$,* +--
"---
+++'! %%&" %%&$#)
Fund raising and recognition
at Central Coast
Fundraising was our main
activity during the winter
months. The Annual Boat
Raffle of a well-equipped
runabout on a trailer was our
focus. Our local community
gave us wonderful support
and we raised about a third of
the operational funds needed
for the coming year.
Nov 1, the last day of the raffle, coincided
with our participation at the Davistown Putt
Putt Regatta and Wooden Boats Show. It was
a glorious, sunny day and those visiting the
event gave us huge support by buying our
sausage “sangers” as well as raffle tickets.
The boat raffle was drawn by our Patron,
Marie Andrews MP. The winner, a local
resident, was over the moon. He expects his
grandchildren to help him have fun with his
fine new runabout.
The Division was awarded a CDSE
grant from Ettalong Memorial Club
towards new radio equipment for
the Point Clare Radio Base. The
donation was most welcome and
will be used to replace an aging MF/
HF Marine Radio.
Top: Marie Andrews MP,
Member for Gosford, and
Pat Fayers check the
winning ticket in the
Boat Raffle drawn at
Deepwater Plaza on
Nov. 1 while Cameron
Veacock looks on
Left: Pat Fayers and
Norm Smith receive
NSW Maritime Medals
Winter training was used to completee
the annual fitness and sea survival
exercises. We were fortunate to have
the use of the pool at Mingara Leisuree
Club. Terry Reynolds was approved
as a ‘Subject Matter Expert’ for the
activity. Terry was also in the news
for the award of a National Medal andd
for qualifying as Skipper 2.
Our educational programme
has continued with Seamanship,
Meteorology and Navigation for
our members and for the public, as well as
Marine First Aid for members. Patrol Padre,
Richard Wrightson, joined one of our Mess
Meetings to explain the resources available
for counselling and support, especially in the
case of traumatic experiences. Thank you
Richard, it was a timely reminder.
The Division has frequently been called on
for assistance in recent months. One incident
involved a man who fell overboard and was
run over by a following vessel. Another
involved collaboration with Broken Bay
Division, AVCG Cottage Point and the Water
Police to attend an overturned vessel off Lion
Island. The towing of broken-down vessels,
including one from 6nm offshore, highlights
common problems with fuel and electrics at
the start of the boating season
Two of our members, Commander Patricia
Fayers and a senior skipper of 28 years
standing, Norm Smith, were honoured with
NSW Maritime Medals for Volunteer Marine
Rescue. They were two very surprised and
pleased people and deserve this special
recognition.
Patricia took leave to assist her daughter
following the birth of her baby son, so others,
in particular Admin Officer, Ian Gallard, and
MRSS Officer, Rita Byrne, stepped up to
keep the show on the road. Pat has never been
more than a phone call away if needed. She
and Ian Gallard have continued to present
the Patrol’s Smart Skipper Show to local
Fishing Club meetings. Pat also attended the
Memorial Service for Emergency Volunteers
in The Domain on October 25 and will lead a
contingent from the Division to the Merchant
Marine Memorial Service at Norah Head on
December 5.
The year will end with the Division’s Annual
Christmas Party and Awards night on Dec 6.
It is a chance for us to say thanks to all the
members who have contributed to this year
and to celebrate our last party as a Division
of Coastal Patrol.
Richard Manning
Central Coast
17
Turn Right
at Terrigal
“Midnight Rambler”
off Terrigal Beach
and (below) Terrigal
Sea Rescue’s
“Mary George”
Networking and IP PABX Specialists
1300 725 789
www.isage.net.au
Marine Rescue units are called on for many tasks, not all of
which are as adrenalin pumping as a rescue at sea. Tasks that
provide community support and visibility are also an important
part of the role and often provide valuable opportunities. Each
year Gosford Sailing club conducts the Broken Bay to Lord
Howe Island yacht race.
Terrigal Sea Rescue was tasked to lay the turning mark close off
Terrigal Beach on October 31 for the start of 36th race in this
Ocean Classic Series. The close-to-shore turning mark ensures
that the community is given a good view of the yachts as they
head up the coast then round the mark and set course northeast for
Lord Howe.
It’s then the pleasant duty to wait for the last yacht to round the
mark, noting times and, of course, that there are no rounding
infringements!
The exercise not only gives the Marine Rescue Unit
community visibility but provides sea time and training for
the rescue vessel crew.
Gordon Kimpton
Terrigal Haven
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Just another day
at the office ...
Or a Whale of a Tale
With notepad and
correspondence in hand I
entered the conference room,
fully armed and ready for the
teleconference. Two phones
rang, the teleconference
phone and my mobile even
though it was programmed
for silent mode, it displayed
“Coastal Patrol”.
A quick “Excuse me, I have to take
this one” saw me leave for the corridor.
Summarising the call, it seemed that we
had the name of a fishing vessel, located
at a place that we had never heard of, with
battery problems, no radio contact and two
mobile phone numbers provided before
communication was lost. “No Problems,”
I thought - after all we do have two mobile
numbers. A quick call to these identified
that one was disconnected and the other
one rang out.
Cutting a very long story short, involving
communications between the duty officer
at the radio base, the Water Police and the
Division, the rescue vessel was tasked to
travel south to well known fishing grounds.
It seemed like a nice enough day for that, so
after getting a crew together and making my
apologies to the teleconference members I was
off to the marina. Out to sea showed flat water,
a sunny day, about 2 to 5 knots NE, and plenty
of boats out including ‘Whale Watchers’.
All the checks and records were completed
and after we logged-on, we were off.
Discussions centred around possible locations
and which track we would take if we didn’t
find them at the estimated position. At least the
weather was good with maximum visibility
and then a heart thumper occurred.
“In a split second our port hull
was back in the water and the
port motor was screaming its
head off.”
At no stage were we aware of whales in our
immediate vicinity and being in Coffs Harbour
our scanning for them is always vigilant, but
one suddenly appeared at what seemed to
be as little as 20m in front of us. The whale
was on starboard and an instant reaction to
get astern of it had the bow almost missing
it. Unfortunately the stern hung out a bit and
up we went. In a split second our port hull
was back in the water and the port motor was
screaming its head off. With engines killed, the
first check was to see that the crew was OK,
the second check indicated no whales in sight.
Time now to inspect CR2. The port motor
impacted the whale so heavily that it
slammed upwards, jamming under the
transom safety rail.
Time to notify the base. Everything seemed
straightforward, all we had to do was get
the motor back down and undertake safety
checks…… but not so simple. The motor
would not un-jam and this meant that we
now had almost no steering on the starboard
motor (3 degrees at best).
Another call to the base to advise them that
we could no longer continue with the rescue
task and we limped (in a very wide circle)
back to the harbour.
We had to wait for a tow into the marina by
the Water Police before they headed off to
complete the rescue task we had started. We
then made a Whale Incident Report and later
a 5-page questionnaire for NPWS which will
be added to international whale research
being conducted in the USA. Oh, the joy of
filling out a plethora of paperwork.
Yes, “just another day at the office.”
Chris Stratten
Search Master
Coffs Harbour
19
A sign of things to come – new Marine Rescue uniforms proudly worn by (left to right) Frank Robards AVCGA,
Peter Philipson RVCP and Bill Carter VRA Marine
Mixed boat sizes and mixed crews enjoyed the training at the Port Macquarie SAREX.
Coast Guard
and Coastal
Patrol rescue
vessels
together on the
jetty at Pelican
for the Open
Day conducted
by Coastal
Patrol Lake
Macquarie to
celebrate its
59th Birthday.
Honour Guard of volunteers assembled for the Volunteers Memorial Service – see story p15
Coastal Patrol
members at
the annual
Davistown Putt
Putt Regatta
on Nov 1
busy selling
raffle tickets
and sausage
sandwiches.
Narooma flagship “Strathmore”, a 44ft Waveney Class allweather rescue vessel, on the slips and re-painted ready for
Marine Rescue NSW livery following her annual refit.
Just one participating member was invited
to be an observer in the helicopter during the
Port Macquarie SAREX. Meet Margaret (Top
Gun) Kelly of Coffs Harbour, pictured just
before her chopper experience.
21
Radio traffic record set at
Terrey Hills 24/7 radio centre
In October 2008 our radio room had a large increase in the number
of contacts reaching 1870 for that month. In October 2009 we have
exceeded that figure to record 1975 radio contacts for the month.
Overall we have recorded 17,765 radio contacts this calendar year
to date, up 8 percent when compared to 2008. Vessel log-ons for
the YTD October are 17 percent up on the same period in 2008.
Obviously we must be doing something right. Our change to
continuous 24 hour 7 days a week operations has had an effect.
The recreational boating public has more confidence in knowing
that we will always be there to take their radio calls. However,
I believe that the major influence has been in the quality of our
operators; they are well trained and enthusiastic, a combination
that is hard to beat. Our really busy time over the Christmas/New
Year holiday period is fast approaching and I know that we are
well prepared and ready for it.
As 2009 draws to a close and we look forward to becoming
members of Marine Rescue NSW, I take this opportunity to thank
our executive and all members of the Coastal Patrol Terrey Hills
Division for their support during this year of strong growth. This
has seen a very heavy training load, particularly on our new
members, and the disruptions caused by our move into new and
better premises. I also wish members and their families a very
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
It is with some sadness that I advise of the loss of one of our long
time members, Mr Frank Sullivan, who passed away in November
after a long battle with cancer. Frank will be greatly missed at
the base and by his many friends at Terrey Hills. Our deepest
sympathy goes to his wife Bernice.
Ron Woosey
Terrey Hills
Ski Boat
burnt out
A planned family
day out ended
abruptly around
1:30pm on
Saturday Nov 14
when an 18’ ski
boat burst into
flames as the
motor was started.
The boat was
launched at the
Bayview Ramp,
Saratoga and the
Bill Egan and Darryl Barnes with the
fire began before
remains of the ski boat
the family had
boarded. No one was hurt, but the fibreglass boat was burned to
the waterline and is a write-off.
Central Coast’s Brisbane Water Lifeboat attended. Skipper Bill
Egan said “By the time we arrived nothing could be done, the boat
had almost burned to the waterline.” At the request of the Fire
Brigade the smouldering hull was towed to the ramp to enable it to
be pulled from the water for disposal.
Cottage Point Boatshed Pty Ltd
BOAT BUILDERS
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Russell Tyler
Tel: (02) 9456 3563 - Fax: (02) 9456 4589 - Mobile: 0407 614 161
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'+!((!,#$$)
Proud to support R.V.C.P.
KIRRIBILLI MARINA
Prestige Boutique Marina on Main Harbour
(02) 9968 1255
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MANUFACTURERS OF
KUBOTA BASED MARINE DEISELS
Ph: (02) 9979 5480
Fax: (02) 9979 8863
Ulladulla prepares flagship
for Australia Day in Sydney
Ulladulla will have centre
stage at the Australia Day
celebrations on Sydney
Harbour in January.
Our 16.7m Arun Class Rescue vessel,
Encounter, has been given the honour of
leading the cavalcade of rescue vessels on
the nation’s biggest day of the year.
With a home-town crew, and new livery to
herald the start of her career with Marine
Rescue NSW, the vessel will be at the
forefront of attention from thousands of
visitors and local sightseers. Pride of place
for the rescue vessel will mean the entire
Ulladulla district will share the limelight on
the big day on January 26.
The Coastal Patrol vessel has undergone
a transformation on the Ulladulla Harbour
slips to become the South Coast pride of the
Marine Rescue NSW fleet.
The crew will be outfitted in their new
uniforms, with the familiar orange rig
replaced by the blue of the new organisation.
The NSW Government has endorsed the
move for members of Royal Volunteer
Coastal Patrol, Volunteer Marine Rescue
Association (Marine) and Australian
Volunteer Coast Guard Association in NSW,
to unify into a single volunteer marine
rescue organisation that will provide greater
efficiency for both the NSW boating public
and the volunteers themselves.
That change has been taking place gradually
over recent months, but in Ulladulla it is part
of a general rejuvenation of the organisation
that has served the district for 35 years.
An influx of keen new members has brought
new faces and additional skills to the
volunteer base.
Above and below: Encounter on the
slips in Ulladulla for refit
Traditionally, Coastal Patrol
has relied heavily on retirees
as volunteers. Now a new
trend has emerged with
some of our new members
still active in the general
workforce.
With support and
encouragement from fellow
members, they have managed
to merge their work and
volunteer responsibilities and
bring a welcome transfusion
of new blood to the Ulladulla
Division.
Many of the new volunteers
have opted for radio duties or
helping to run the base snack
food outlet. A number have
signed-on for boat crew duties and are
already training with their new shipmates.
Division Commander Doug Musker is
anxious to let everyone know there is always
plenty of room for more members – whatever
they choose to do. “This is the start of a new
era for volunteer marine rescue in NSW and
Ulladulla has always been ready to embrace
change and encourage growth,” he said.
“It’s especially gratifying to have new
members joining us as the new organisation
shifts into gear. They’re going to be in on
the ground floor and in a sense be founder
members of Marine Rescue NSW.”
Although still technically the Ulladulla
Division of Coastal Patrol, the local members
are all ready for the start of the new voyage
as marine rescue volunteers.
Doug said: “Age and gender are no barrier and there are roles to suit most interests, not
necessarily only crewing a rescue vessel.”
A significant benefit of the new organisation is
that members will no longer have to buy their
own uniforms and pay for training courses.
The Ulladulla Base operates seven days a
week and visitors are welcome to drop in.
Jamie Roberts
Ulladulla
23
It pays to have
First Aid training
Ambulance officers attend to crash victim next to Armco barrier
recorded stats until the medics arrived.”
Andrew added, “Around three months ago I
added a pulse oximeter, infrared thermometer
and blood pressure kit to my First Aid box.
I am very pleased that I did. Due to the
seriousness of the injuries, the stats I was able
to provide to the ambos were important.”
“The medi-vac helicopter arrived and landed
in a property 800 metres away. I used my onetonner to ferry paramedics and their kit to the
scene, arriving just before a road Ambulance
joined us. Nearly an hour was spent getting the
casualty stable before lift-off.”
The casualty’s injuries were serious and
included broken femur, broken hand, multiple
chest contusions, floating rib cage, collapsed
lung, internal bleeding and possible ruptured
spleen.
He was flown to Royal North Shore Hospital
where he was operated on. Initially, the broken
ribs were stabilised, and then the ruptured
spleen removed to stop internal bleeding.
Once the patient was pronounced ‘stable’ his
other injuries were then able to be assessed.
On Sunday November 1, Coastal Patrol
Hawkesbury Division Skipper Andrew Ward
decided to grab the camera and go for an
afternoon drive out to Wisemans Ferry and
on to St Albans.
Five kilometres short of St Albans, he came
across a motor cycle accident that had just
occurred. A 48 year old Central Coast man
had lost control on a corner, dropped his bike
and had hit the Armco barrier chest first.
Andrew holds an advanced First Aid
qualification. He said, “Assisted by his two
riding companions, I kept the injured man
comfortable for 30 minutes and took and
Andrew Ward has been a member of Coastal
Patrol Hawkesbury for 10 years. He is well
known on the Hawkesbury for his involvement
with the Music Festival, Canoe Classic and
Bridge to Bridge events.
Kenneth Athonisz
PR Officer
Hawkesbury
Kioloa on
the Rocks
Kioloa Rescue “parked” on the rock ledge south of Clear Point
It was a nice October morning
and several groups of people
were walking at the north end
of Pebbly Beach.
One of the walkers, a +50 y/o man, went to
look over the rocks. Suddenly a wave washed
him off into the sea. Another man from a
different walking party went to his aid and
dived into the water; he got caught in a rip
and was carried out to sea. The man who
was originally washed off the rocks managed
to scramble ashore.
Coastal Patrol Kioloa was asked to help in
the SAR operation. Kioloa rescue vessel was
launched and set off for Pebbly Beach where
Coastal Patrol Batemans Bay and Mollymook
Surf Lifesaving Club had joined forces to
carry out a search. A command centre was
set up on Pebbly Beach to co-ordinate the
operation using RIBs and a helicopter.
After several hours of searching, nothing had
been found and at 1045 hours we exchanged
crews on Kioloa Rescue. The new crew, Peter
Lee and Kieran Cruise made contact with
Batemans Bay RIB and met them 1nm north
of Grasshopper Island. We were tasked to
search on a parallel course of 015° Magnetic,
50 metres apart. When we reached Clear
Point we were asked to run the reciprocal
course (195°) closer inshore.
At the end of this run we were asked to search
the coastline running north from Pebbly Beach
to Clear Point; we were then asked to search
the north side of the Carriage Rocks. A team
of SES volunteers was positioned on Clear
Point to visually scan the area around Carriage
Rocks. Visibility was good and seas were
moderately rough, although there was a lot of
seaweed in the water.
“a rogue wave broke
immediately on our port side,
swept us inshore and rolled us
over. We were dumped upside
down on the rock shelf.”
Having completed a circuit of the area, we
contacted command centre and reported
that nothing had been; we were then tasked
to conduct a search south of the Carriages
to Pebbly Beach, close to the shore. We
followed the coastline south from the
Carriages 40 to 50m from the breaking water
towards Pebbly Beach.
At the rock
shelf south
of Clear
Point, a rogue
wave broke
immediately
on our port
side, swept
us inshore
and rolled us
over. We were
dumped upside
down on the
rock shelf. Both
Peter and Kieran
were under the
boat and were
submerged by
the waves. After three or four waves, they
were pushed up the rock shelf to a height
where they had some respite from the waves.
They extracted themselves from under the
boat and made their way, helped by the
occasional wave, higher up the rock shelf.
They recuperated for a few minutes and
stripped off their life-jackets and dry-suits
and checked for injuries, each with the other.
Peter had a gash on the left side of his face
(received when he was pushed up the rock
shelf by a wave) and was limping slightly.
Kieran had a gash on his right forearm and
bruised ribs on his right side.
Crews on two rubber ducks were in the inlet
south of us, watching us, and they were given
a “thumbs up” signal to indicate both boat
crew were safe.
The lifesavers in the rubber duck indicated
that if they made their way to the beach, they
would take the two crew to Pebbly Beach.
The crew told them they would make their
way to the beach after they salvaged the
equipment that had been washed up on the
rock shelf.
Some of the damage sustained
by Kioloa Rescue
On Sunday morning some of the SES
volunteers plus members of the Bateman’s
Bay Coastal Patrol righted the vessel in
preparation for it to be towed from the rocks
by the rescue vessel Encounter and taken
to Ulladulla. It was then brought back to
Kioloa. Damage was severe and the vessel
may not be able to be repaired. Many thanks
to all the volunteers who assisted Kioloa
during this trying time.
Both crew members are recovering from their
ordeal. Kieran suffered a nasty gash requiring
11 stitches on his arm and severe bruising
around his ribs whilst Peter had 8 stitches
inserted in a temple wound and damaged
his knee. The Police received a very nice
“thank you to all who searched” letter from
the brother of the missing man. He was
especially concerned about the two injured
rescue volunteers. Such a letter means so
much and we are all grateful that the brother
took time to write.
Joan Noble
Kioloa
25
VHF radio getting
some backbone
When the Telstra maritime
VHF and HF services ceased
earlier this decade the states
were obliged to implement
their own coastal VHF and
HF services.
In New South Wales this service was
provided by Sydney Ports Corporation. This
only provided VHF coverage to the Hunter /
Sydney Metropolitan / Illawarra areas (Port
Stephens to Kiama) and the HF service did
not meet National Marine Safety Committee
(NMSC) requirements. Sydney Ports
Corporation is now seeking to focus on their
core business and to relinquish their contract
to provide non-VTS radio distress coverage.
This represents an opportunity to design
and build a VHF system that fully meets the
NMSC standard and to consider better ways
in which to provide HF services for nonGMDSS vessels.
The unification of the three volunteer marine
rescue organisations in NSW (Australian
Volunteer Coast Guard Association NSW,
Royal Volunteer Coastal Patrol and VRA
Marine Division) into Marine Rescue NSW
(MRNSW) represents an opportunity to make
major radio infrastructure improvements.
149°E
150°E
151°E
152°E
153°E
Important Notes:
1. Vessel operators are reminded that they must hold
a minimum of a Marine Radio Operators VHF Certificate
of proficiency to use a VHF radio.
2. Radilo network coverage is indicative only and may vary
between vessels and propagation conditions.
3. This map is not to be used for navigational purposes.
154°E
Tweed
Heads
155°E
156°E
28°S
Brunswick
Heads
!
St Helena
BALLINA
29°S
29°S
Yamba
Mororo !
GRAFTON
30°S
30°S
Coffs
Harbour !
Nambucca
Heads
Mt Yarrahapinni
Tasman
!
31°S
31°S
KEMPSEY
PORT
MACQUARIE
!
Middle Brother
Taree
32°S
32°S
Forster
See Inset
Nelson
Bay
Gan Gan
NEWCASTLE
!
33°S
33°S
Sea
GOSFORD
North Head
SYDNEY
!
34°S
34°S
Inset
WOLLONGONG
Gan Gan
Kiama
Cambewarra !
Nowra
!
35°S
35°S
NEWCASTLE
Ulladulla
Batemans
Bay
Proposal under Discussion
The Marine Rescue NSW solution for radio
coverage can be divided into two areas:
VHF and HF.
36°S
Round Hill ! Round Hill
Moruya
Heads
GOSFORD
36°S
Narooma
North Head
Bermagui
Mt Mumbulla !
1. VHF
37°S
The VHF solution has three tiers.
Tasman
!
SYDNEY
Merimbula
Eden
Mt Imlay
Sea
WOLLONGONG
!
0
37°S
1:3,000,000
12.5
25
50
Nautical Miles
The first tier is the ‘backbone system’ that
will provide reliable VHF coverage from
border to border according to the NMSC
standard. The backbone will comprise a
continuous voice listening watch on Channel
16 and Channel 67, the ability to change to
a third frequency for discrete working and a
continuous DSC listening watch on Channel
70. This will be achieved by establishing
elevated remote base station sites at fourteen
strategic sites along the NSW coast. These
remote base stations will be controlled from
Sydney. The preferred method of linking
and controlling these base stations is by
employing the Telstra Managed Wide Area
Network (MWAN) with Next G modem
backup. Discussions are continuing with
Telstra on pricing.
149°E
150°E
151°E
152°E
!
153°E
24 Hour Base
Backbone Station
Backbone Coverage
Signal (dBm)
-83 to -91
-75 to -79
-67 to -71
154°E
155°E
Plan compiled from information held in the
Domestic Property & Geospatial Services Branch.
INFORMATION ON THIS PLAN
IS SUBJECT TO COPYRIGHT. N
Proposed VHF
Backbone Coverage
Nautical Miles
E
W
0
0
10 20
40
60
40
80
120
Scale at A4 sheet 1:4,250,000
80
156°E
S
Kilometres
160
Date Produced: 6 November 2009
Proposed Marine Rescue NSW VHF Backbone Coverage
The second tier is designed to extend the
capability of local bases by providing borderto-border VHF marine repeater coverage.
There are currently ten repeaters in operation
in NSW.
The third tier is the local unit. Most local
units are situated close to sea level and
have less-than-optimal seaward coverage.
Despite this they handle the bulk of traffic
from vessels departing from, arriving at or
transiting the local area. With the increase in
numbers of recreational vessels that are using
VHF, the demand for airtime is great but the
available spectrum is small.
Earlier in 2009 a delegation from NSW
Police Marine Area Command and MRNSW
met with the Australian Communication
and Media Authority (ACMA) Pricing and
Policy Branch and outlined its desire for
three additional duplex frequencies from the
old suite of Seaphone channels to be used for
calling and working at the local unit level.
Dependable marine
radio comms put a
smile on every dial.
These channels would ideally be configured in
base station, rather than repeater mode. This
configuration would allow communication
between a vessel and the local unit but
vessels would need to change to a simplex
frequency to talk, thus substantially reducing
the potential for interference or congestion.
The follow-on effect would be that Channel
16 would be freed up for distress and safety
traffic and Channel 73 congestion would be
markedly reduced.
At the local level, this would mean that a unit
would have the ability to log-on and work its
own vessels without interference. They would
also have the ability to extend their coverage
seaward by using VHF marine repeaters.
Channel 73 would be freed of the current
congestion and used as a secondary channel.
The changes at every level (and particularly
the local level) will require coordinated
education and public relations campaigns.
Ideally, there will be signage erected at local
boat ramps providing graphical information
about channel use and range.
2. HF
Marine Rescue NSW has explored two options
in relation to the provision of high frequency
(HF) radio services:
i) construct its own HF infrastructure; or
ii) utilise a known, proven provider of HF
services on a contract basis
For a high frequency system to be effective
there must be an ability to maintain a
listening watch simultaneously on 4125 kHz,
6215 kHz and 8291 kHz. The construction
of reliable HF infrastructure that meets
international and local standards is expensive.
After investigating the cost of providing the
infrastructure it was decided to explore the
second option.
Volunteer units currently provide a listening
watch on 2182 kHz. The equipment that is
used is usually a land-based installation of
marine equipment. MRNSW is currently
considering a future establishment of two MF
remote stations (one to the north and one to
the south in areas of low RF noise near to the
coast) in order to provide a better service. This
would be controlled in a similar way to the
VHF backbone.
Earlier in 2009 Marine Rescue NSW made
enquiries with Airservices Australia about
engaging them to provide a similar service
for NSW as it currently provides to South
Australia. It was determined that despite the
ability for their infrastructure to perform the
function, their senior management were not
enthusiastic about progressing our proposal.
Kordia Solutions was then approached
to determine whether the current site at
Charleville would be capable of maintaining
a voice service on HF. Kordia have signalled
that they would consider a proposal from
the states to provide HF voice coverage.
With providing boating safety uppermost in
mind, Marine Rescue NSW, Police and NSW
Maritime Authority are working together to
look at best options for HF coverage and have
generated discussions with other states to
develop the most appropriate HF solution.
Improved comms
between rescue vessels
and shore stations.
DCN Service
For some time now the AVCGA and RVCP has
operated their own discrete communications
networks (DCN) in the VHF land mobile
band for communication between their bases
and rescue vessels. This has proved a very
successful concept and has enabled a large
volume of “internal” radio communications
to be conducted away from the marine band
providing both a private communications
capability and a marked reduction in traffic on
the public calling and working frequencies.
The aim of Marine Rescue NSW is to establish
a series of linked repeaters to enable all Marine
Rescue units on the NSW coast to conduct
their internal radio comms on DCN away from
the public marine band.
Currently there are four unlinked repeaters in
service with a further three to be brought online by end of 2009. This also includes two, or
possibly three, simplex chat channels.
Use of this discrete communications network
will allow bases and vessels anywhere on the
NSW coast to talk to each other via radio; will
save significantly on telephone calls and will
enable each unit to know what is going on
around them, what resources are available, as
well as provide more effective coordination of
resources during emergencies. The objective
for this network rollout is to link all Marine
Rescue units and vessels using a controlled
network like those employed by police, fire and
ambulance services.
The network will be used by bases, vessels,
vehicles and portable radios.
DCN repeaters are currently located in the
following areas: Laurieton, Nelson Bay, North
Head and Batemans Bay.
Future repeaters will be installed at: South
West Rocks (Nov 09), Barrenjoey and Stanwell
Park (Dec 09), then Nowra, Merimbula, Coffs
Harbour, Maclean, Byron Bay and Eden during
2010 provided funding is available.
27
Event-filled months keep
Coffs Harbour busy
techniques as well as meeting and working
with members of other bases. The fifth
member who attended, ‘Lucky’, was duly
rescued for the umpteenth time and returned
once again to the base to await his next
watery adventure. It was hard to wipe the
smile from Margaret Kelly’s face as she was
one of only a few chosen to take a ten minute
flight in the Navy helicopter that was taking
part in the exercise. All told, the SAREX
was an informative as well as enjoyable
experience for those who attended.
“Thanks to all for the
continued support of our base
and rescue vessel. Without the
community support we could
not continue to provide this
vital service.”
Division Commander Lindy Powells
continues to be in demand to talk about the
role of Coastal Patrol. She visited The Prime
Group at Moonee Shopping Centre, Bonville/
Boambee VIEW Club, the Marine Studies
group at Toormina High School and Narranga
Public School Year 2 & 3 - all were well
informed and showed great interest in the
services provided by Coastal Patrol.
As 2010 rapidly approaches,
Coffs Harbour members
are looking forward to the
transition from Coastal Patrol
to Marine Rescue NSW.
In the Coffs Harbour Radio Room,
NSW Minister for Emergency Services,
Steve Whan MP, Member for Monaro,
and Adrian Paul, Admin Officer.
On a lighter note, a very successful social
evening was enjoyed by a large number
of members at the Deep Sea Fishing Club.
Dinner was followed by a general get together.
Thanks to Adrian Paul for the organisation.
Everyone in attendance had a great time and
are looking forward to doing it all again.
Our base continues to host local groups for
luncheon and morning teas with Bellingen
CWA, Zonta Club, Mid-North Coast Amateur
Radio Group, Inner Wheel and a bus tour
group from Tuncurry all taking a tour of the
base and enjoying the best whale watching
vantage place in Coffs Harbour. We also
had a surprise visit from the Minister for
Emergency Services, Steve Whan MP, who
was very impressed with the operation and
location of our base. He was in the area to
appraise first-hand the aftermath of the recent
floods in early October.
for visiting groups at the base and the sale
of car raffle tickets.
Generous donations have been received
from Coffs Harbour Lions Club, Al Ramm
(towards the cost of our stolen tow rope),
Charles Phipps (donation of rope after the
tow rope was stolen) and the Coffs Coast
Freemasons for the donation of a radar
unit on our rescue vessel CR2. This further
enhances the already impressive range of
equipment. Thanks to all for the continued
support of our base and rescue vessel.
Without the community support we could not
continue to provide this vital service.
The fundraising team has been kept busy (as
usual) with the planning and running of our
annual Mega Garage and Plant Sale followed
two weeks later by a Giant Plant Sale. The
team also managed to fit in a BBQ for “Jazz
on the Verandah” at Glennifer, the catering
Our rescue boat CR2 was involved in
assisting a number of broken-down boats
and was itself assisted back to the marina
after a close encounter with a whale south
of Coffs Harbour. (See ‘Just another day at
the office’ P19)
Watch keepers have been kept busy with
large numbers of boats taking advantage of
the few periods of good weather in between
reading weather warnings the rest of the
time. Even the “quiet” watches can produce
the unexpected as Russ Holland can attest to
after an early morning call. (See ‘We’ve hit
something...’ P5)
The annual SAREX in Port Macquarie
was attended by four of our members, who
all gained new skills in search and rescue
We wish everyone a very Happy Christmas
and an equally prosperous New Year and hope
for good weather conditions for the busiest
time of the year for all coastal regions.
Bill McCarron
PR Officer
Coffs Harbour
29
Zip Lock your
mobile
BERTH YOUR BOAT
on the HAWKESBURY
3
3
3
3
Power & water to berths 3 Slipway to 20 tons
Mechanic & Shipwright on site
Moorings available with dinghy storage
Launching ramp 3Lock up car parking
Brooklyn
SANDBROOK INLET 9985 5500
MARINA
Help
All members of the boating community are strongly encouraged to
consider measures they can take for promoting their safety whilst
out on the water.
Of course, the number one safety measure is logging-on when you
leave the launching ramp or mooring. In an emergency this will greatly
improve your chance of survival.
A very simple and inexpensive idea for extra safety is sealing your
mobile phone inside one of those zip lock type bags available from
the supermarket.
Depending on the design, most mobile phones can be used without
removing them from the sealed bag. Conversation is still able to be
heard by both the sender and the receiver. In the unfortunate event
that someone is thrown into the water this measure just might help
to save his or her life.
Another valuable and potentially life saving measure is to
programme the local Coastal Patrol or Marine Rescue base phone
number into your mobile phone directory. In an emergency you
will be able to contact the Patrol to seek assistance if required.
Remember, safety at sea is everyone’s responsibility.
Peta Jenkins
Merimbula
Medina Hotels
Competition
In Issue 3, the final issue of Beam Ends, Medina Apartment
Hotels invited readers to submit an entry to have an
opportunity to win a night’s accommodation for two at any
Medina Apartment within Australia. The lucky winners, who
will have received their Medina voucher by mail, are:
•
•
•
•
•
Geoff Leahy - Lane Cove
Diana Nagle - Ettalong
John Pratten - Batehaven
Heather Roberts - Berowra Heights
Greg Rosier - Castle Hill
Congratulations to the winners and our thanks to Medina
Apartment Hotels for their support of Marine Rescue in NSW.
our injured wildlife
Every year thousands of marine birds and
animals are injured by plastic bags,
fishing line, hooks and sinkers.
If you see an injured bird or marine
animal please call WIRES on
13000 WIRES or Australian
Seabird Rescue on
0428 862 852.
Donate to WIRES at www.wires.org.au
or to Australian Seabird Rescue at www.seabirdrescue.org.
''#"& '* $(&". 0."/&
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joint safety program
Coast Guard
and Coastal
Patrol members
with the
education
trailer at
La Perouse
Coast Guard and Coastal Patrol commanders from Botany Bay and Port
Hacking have been meeting regularly and planning how to make Marine
Rescue NSW work most effectively in their area. Between them the
units cover open waters from Coogee to Stanwell Tops as well as Port
Hacking, Botany Bay and the Hacking, Georges and Cooks Rivers. This
gives the three rescue vessels and two radio bases plenty of work, with
close to fifty assists in the past two months alone.
Regular meetings have led to joint on-water training exercises and
boating safety education. In November, the units worked together at
the Gymea Fair and are doing monthly boat-ramp education at local
ramps. Education days start at 0600 and go most of the morning. The
Boat Ramp Education project uses the trailer bought and stocked with
the assistance of an Emergency Management Australia grant to Coast
Guard Solander.
The team visits local boat ramps, fairs and other gathering places to
educate boaties on boating safety matters, particularly the use of their
marine radios. The trailer has demonstration 27 MHz and VHF radios
that enable boaties to learn and practice. As a result more boaties
are logging on with the radio bases and using their radios to call for
assistance. Information on education courses, fire safety and engine
and battery maintenance is also provided to help minimize the need for
assistance. In recent months, the trailer has been used in a number of
joint days with the local Fisheries people, promoting their message as
well as the safety message. Coastal Patrol members joined their Coast
Guard colleagues at the most recent La Perouse Education Day and at
the Yowie Bay morning in November in a strong demonstration of the
cooperation between the two units as they unify to join MRNSW.
Jack Herman
Commander, Solander
Marine radio call
saves man and boat
A marine radio proved invaluable on Sunday Nov 8, saving the life of
a man and his 16ft half-cabin launch.
Just before 2.30pm, Richard Manning, duty radio operator at the Point
Clare Base of Coastal Patrol Central Coast Division heard a MAY
DAY on the 27MHz radio. A vessel with engine trouble called the
emergency and reported that it was just 20m off the rocks under the
cliffs near Barrenjoey Lighthouse in Broken Bay.
Coastal Patrol Broken Bay Division’s new rescue vessel, Peter E Weston,
was operational just inside Pittwater, and the Skipper, Robert Baker,
immediately responded to the operator’s request for assistance.
A vessel even closer in Broken Bay overheard the MAY DAY call
and advised Richard Manning that it would immediately go and try to
help. When the Peter E Weston arrived a few minutes later the launch
and the worried man aboard had been successfully towed away from
the rocks. The launch was then taken back to the launching ramp at
Bayview.
Proof again of the extra safety that comes with a marine radio call that
can also be heard by someone who may be close and able to assist
faster when time is running out.
Ron Cole
Central Coast
31
Commissioner
Guest at RMYC
PROUD TO SUPPORT THE MARINE RESCUE
NEW SOUTH WALES
HI-TIDE
AUSTRALIA’S
No.1 FISHING
& BOATING
RADIO
PROGRAM
Kieran Reekie
& Alan Blake
www.2sm.com.au/hitide.html
Commissioner Glenn Finniss (centre) with Coastal
Patrol OC, Peter Phillipson (left) and General Manager
of BIA NSW, Roy Privett and his wife Dayle (right).
Glenn Finniss, the newly appointed Commissioner of Marine
Rescue NSW, was a guest of honour at the Royal Motor Yacht Club
Broken Bay season opening on October 24.
In his speech Commissioner Finniss provided an outline of
the genesis of MRNSW and explained how a single, unified
organisation will benefit the boating public.
The address was very well received by those in attendance. Guests
included the Member for Mackellar, the Hon. Bronwyn Bishop;
Member for Pittwater, Rob Stokes MP; Roy Privett, General
Manager BIA NSW; the Directors and members of the RMYC,
Commodores from other yacht clubs and members of local units
of Coast Guard and Coastal Patrol.
Kieran Reekie
and
Alan Blake
know
everything
there is to
know about
how to snare
the catch of
the day.
From 4am
Saturdays and Sundays
Peta Jenkins
Merimbula
Versadock
Drive-on Dock
Versadock is a revolutionary, maintenance-free docking
system that provides waterfront and anchored docking while
delivering versatility. It allows easy access to even the most
awkward corners, mud flats or previously unusable areas.
Lightweight interlocking floats are the cornerstone of the
system. They are made of high molecular polythene, strong
enough to hold great loads and are virtually indestructible.
This modular system can be assembled from above the dock
in just a few hours.
The drive-on V-float smoothly guides and cradles the hull
of your boat safely onto the dock. This enables vessels to be
driven on and stored out of the water.
For more information contact
Nigel Woods on 0448 911 222 or
nigel@versadock.com.au
www.2sm.com.au/hitide.html
Marine Rescue branding
is a high priority
The first of several Mobile Command Centre
vehicles for Marine Rescue NSW has now
been delivered in corporate colours.
Waiting for administrative matters to be
resolved before a formal commencement date
is announced, has not stopped Marine Rescue
NSW from establishing its striking new brand.
Many units have also started on their own
brand transition programs. Rescue vessels
in Marine Rescue colours are already on
the water in Broken Bay, Botany Bay, Port
Macquarie, Tuross Head, Port Stephens and
Tuggerah Lakes.
Vessels from Sydney, Sussex Inlet, Ulladulla,
Narooma and Batemans Bay will soon follow
and designs are under way for many other
units as well.
The Marine Rescue NSW signage rollout has
also begun. It is now on the interim Sydney
HQ building at The Spit, the Terrey Hills
24/7 radio base and in production for Port
Macquarie, Hawkesbury, Sussex Inlet and
Batemans Bay.
Units are reminded that requests for livery
templates for their buildings and vessels may
be submitted to Ken McManus at
First Marine Rescue NSW mobile command centre in uniform
pr@marinerescuensw.com.au. Requests for
vessel templates should contain full width
and full length photographs of vessels from
90° off bow, port, starboard and stern together
with a selection of reference measurements
including length, distance from waterline to
gunwale, measurements of existing major
signage and any other reference that will help
provide an accurate template.
Building templates require similar distance
references and units are reminded that new
building signage may require a Development
Application from their local council. Some
councils do permit “like for like” changes that
do not require a DA. This should be checked
by each individual unit.
Modular Drive-On Docking Solutions
WALKWAYS - COMMERCIAL - BOATS - JETSKIS
P: 0448 911 222 E: info@versadock.com.au W: www.versadock.com.au
33
CP007N
new look
on Tuggerah
Lakes
CP007N in the new livery of Marine Rescue NSW
As summer races towards us, Coastal Patrol
Tuggerah Lakes has been busy organising planning training courses, a membership drive,
fundraising and more importantly, to ensure
operational readiness for the busy time ahead.
There is great anticipation within the ranks of Tuggerah Lakes’
members as we move closer to the new era of Marine Rescue NSW.
Many hands have been at work ensuring we are ready to continue our
service to the boating fraternity.
The refurbishment of our Shark Cat rescue vessel CP007N has
been completed and she has emerged looking great with her fresh
coat of paint in the new colours of Marine Rescue NSW. General
comments from members of our community indicate a unanimous
approval of the new look. The boat crews are already on board and
out on the lakes. There were four rescue incidents during October.
SAREX at Nelson Bay once again proved to be a great success,
as reported by Colin Lewis & Vicki Buchanan who made the trip
to Nelson Bay. They agreed, “The experience was invaluable;
the hospitality really wonderful and it was great to meet up with
members from many of our other bases”. Well done to all involved
for making it a successful event.
Denis O’Mara
Tuggerah Lakes
Planning a
voyage to the
Central Coast?
Visit the beautiful Brisbane Water by boat
and you can plan to stay right in the heart
of Gosford close to the sailing club, hotels,
cafes and fine restaurants.
Berth at the convenient Public Visitors Wharf
in Gosford Boat Harbour for just $15 per night
including electricity.
To reserve a berth simply contact
Coastal Patrol Gosford – just phone
(02) 4325 7929
or call on any marine radio frequency open 7 days a week.
Vicki Buchanan on board
at SAREX Nelson Bay
Royal Volunteer Coastal Patrol – Central Coast
BBQ$ at
Bermagui
The Division’s rescue statistics
look a little light for the last
quarter as the rescue vessel,
James T Lees, has been out of
service more often than in.
Earlier in the year the port engine suddenly
died, making the tow in progress a little
interesting. During the overhaul we found
that the injector pump had failed. Fixing that
problem left the Division’s already low funds
poorer by $9,000. No matter, the problem was
eventually fixed with a rebuilt injector pump
and we were ready for sea again, but alas,
a major diesel leak from the port tank was
discovered. The Boatmaster and crew removed
all the rear deck and finally removed the tank.
It seemed that the boat had been built around
the tank. The original installation used the
filler pipe as a means of securing the tank and
rough seas over the years had split the tank’s
seam. The tank was finally removed and the
seam welded.
An old war wound in the port bow was
also of concern. So another week was spent
reinforcing the triple skin with marine ply/
Vital fund raising comes from the BBQ every week
epoxy and fibreglass. These were used to
laminate two stringers to ensure that the bow
was good enough to break ice.
The radar had died much earlier in the year
and our Div Com had managed to buy
another from a Division up North. The need
to install the radar gave us the incentive to
upgrade the electrics/radios etc and so we
were out of service for another two weeks.
We were ready to go and one of the very
large and expensive batteries started play up.
Bermagui also has a new skipper. John Perry
recently moved back to Bermagui and has
made himself available to skipper the boat.
Also ongoing are our fund raising activities.
Brian and Dawn Kenyon (pictured above)
have continued to run Midway Eats, for the
Saturday golfers. The BBQ raises about
$130 a week. This may not seem much, but
for a small town like Bermagui with a lot of
competition for funds from many of the local
community groups, this is excellent support
from a generous community. The total raised
to August was $6,000.
Denise Page
Bermagui
35
Ulladulla
members up
The launch of Marine Rescue NSW has led to
an encouraging surge in interest from the public
with a large number of new applications for
membership with Ulladulla Division.
They include some people with very relevant experience, and a
number active in the workforce. This latter factor has caused us
to review our training processes, which in the past have generally
been mid-week sessions. We are now doing most of our crew
training in the evenings and at weekends. With the new arrivals
have come new ideas and we are happily incorporating some of
the suggestions into our procedures.
“The review and renovation of our radio setup, both on the boats and in the radio room,
has resulted in the best range and reception
we have ever had.”
The review and renovation of our radio set-up, both on the
boats and in the radio room, has resulted in the best range and
reception we have ever had. Reception in the radio room is largely
interference free, while that on the boats is much improved. Using
our internal VHF DSC network to automatically request and report
Encounter’s position has reduced the volume of voice traffic while
at sea – a very handy feature when the vessel is communicating
with several radio stations during a rescue.
“To minimise time out of service, they
stripped the necessary parts and got
them up to the contractors, WesTrac, for
workshop attention and then worked with the
contractors on re-installation from 0600hrs
to 1800hrs, almost non-stop.”
Our engineering people recently excelled themselves with
preventative maintenance on the starboard engine of Encounter.
To minimise time out of service, they stripped the necessary
parts and got them up to the contractors, WesTrac, for workshop
attention, and then worked with the contractors on re-installation
from 0600hrs to 1800hrs, almost non-stop.
Ulladulla Division is proud of these dedicated workers and is also
very grateful to WesTrac for its excellent service and co-operation.
Their mechanic deserves a special mention for donating six
hours of his own time to the Division. Performances like this are
uplifting and make all the hard work worthwhile.
Encounter is currently being prepared for repainting in MRNSW
colours. She is already a big attraction when opened for inspection
at the monthly Harbourside markets, she will look even better
when the job is done. Much of the preparatory work is again
being completed by our own people, who never cease to come up
with a big effort whenever it is needed.
We eagerly anticipate the change to Marine Rescue NSW.
Doug Musker
Ulladulla
Providing
strategic
trade &
logistic
solutions
For more information contact:
Port Kembla Port Corporation
Maritime Centre,
91 Foreshore Road
PO Box 89
Port Kembla NSW 2505
t: 02 4275 0100
e: enquiries@portkembla.com.au
www.portkembla.com.au
Open Day for
Lake Mac’s
59th
On October 31, a picture perfect day, Coastal
Patrol Lake Macquarie held an Open Day to
celebrate its 59th birthday.
The venue was the park next to the Base at Pelican on Lake Macquarie.
The day started with bacon and egg “sangas” on the BBQ, cooked by a
team under the watchful eye of our chief cook and stirrer Peter Sun. This
team worked tirelessly and at one time had three BBQs going to keep up
with the demand for their culinary masterpieces.
BOAT
BOOKS
AUSTRALIA
@ Over 2000 different books in stock on every aspect
of boating
@ World wide chart coverage corrected up to date of
sale
@ Full range of instruments for all your navigational
needs
@ Phone, Mail, Email & Fax orders processed
immediately
@ All major credit cards accepted
@ National coverage
BRISBANE
Boat Books
MELBOURNE
Boat Books
SYDNEY
Boat Books
109 Albert Street
Brisbane QLD 4000
214 St Kilda Road
St Kilda VIC 3182
31 Albany Street
Crows Nest NSW 2065
Phone (07) 3229 6427
Fax (07) 3221 9391
Phone (03) 9525 3444
Fax (03) 9525 3355
Phone (02) 9439 1133
Fax (02) 9439 8517
Email:
Email:
Email:
brisbane@boatbooks-aust.com.au
melbourne@boatbooks-aust.com.au boatbook@boatbooks-aust.com.au
VISIT OUR WEBSITE
www.boatbooks-aust.com.au
There was a mixture of market stalls selling a variety of goods, as well
as a couple of fairy face painters for the kids. Other emergency and
community services were represented including NSW Maritime, Water
Police, the RFS, SES, NSW Fire Brigade and Fisheries. A number of
rescue craft were moored at the jetty for members of the public to look
over. A pleaser for the younger kids was the Water Police rubber duckie.
There was great entertainment including a rock group, single artists, boot
scooters, school bands, kung fu and of course, what’s a party without
bagpipes. We also held the first Beach to Base surf ski race. Members from
the Swansea Caves Beach Surf Club paddled from Blacksmiths Beach out
past the breakwater and down the channel to the Base at Pelican. The
winners were presented with a trophy by Division Commander, Frank
Jarvie We hope that this will become an annual event.
We were joined on the day by members of Swansea Coast Guard who
participated in the fun and spirit of the day. The Marine Rescue tent
was manned by Helen Forbes of Coastal Patrol and Rose Jackson of
Coast Guard. They were kept busy with numerous inquiries from the
public about Marine Rescue NSW and the opportunity to join the new
organisation.
Local politicians, Commanders from neighbouring Coastal Patrol
units and Swansea Coast Guard attended the day. They all joined
Frank Jarvie on stage for the formal opening by the Mayor of Lake
Macquarie, Mr John Piper MP. The politicians praised the work of
Coastal Patrol and Coast Guard in the area and offered support in the
unification of the two units.
It was a great day, however, for some of our long serving members it was
tinged with just a little sadness. It was the 59th and also the last birthday
as an RVCP Division that has given such long and faithful service to the
local boating community. This was tempered with the confidence that
even greater benefits will come as a unit of Marine Rescue NSW.
Jim Wright
Lake Macquarie
37
Nights in
Narooma
Searching for ‘three persons in a liferaft’
The smart way to go boating
Book your boat in for a check-up today
$99.00
(RRP)*
Your boating should be fun and relaxing. As the skipper you
should ensure that you have done what you can to protect the
safety of your passengers and yourself whilst on the waterways.
Adding the 50 Point Safety Check to your yearly routine will
help to keep you and the crew safe on the water.
The 50 Point Safety Check can only be provided by trade
qualified members of the Marine Industry Mechanical Repairers
Association.
A fresh set of professional eyes may see problems that everyday
boaties are unaware of, providing peace-of-mind and better
awareness of vessel safety.
Visit www.50pointcheck.com.au
or call (02) 9438 2077 for nearest
qualified technician.
Proudly supported by Marine Rescue NSW
Why is it that, during the winter months, our
boatie friends only discover that their engines
don’t work or the battery is flat or whatever
after 5 o’clock at night?
Narooma has been called out to six incidents in the last three months,
three of which were completed after 1900 hours. So what, you say!
Well, Narooma doesn’t have leads and our bar entrance is only 28m
wide – great fun in the dark with a 44’ Waveney lifeboat that only does
13 knots flat out.
All of these assists were of the “bread and butter” variety and were
completed successfully. However, on August 15, during the return
leg of a tow we were requested by Eden Water Police Marine Area
Command to search the area for “three persons in a life raft” reported
by a member of the public, in a position vaguely approximate to our
then position. Our rescue vessel, Strathmore, began a search pattern
(with the assisted vessel still attached) and eventually found the
distressed object – a large bunch of party balloons!
Batemans Bay Division has had problems with lifeboats over the past 3
months, and Narooma has covered a much larger response area to assist.
Thankfully this problem has now been resolved.
Also over the last 3 months, due to local publicity about the
establishment of Marine Rescue NSW (and hard work by our
Membership Officer), we signed up eleven new members, six of whom
recently sat for their MROCP certificate. This ease should the load on
our Radio Operators.
On November 2, Strathmore was slipped for five days for her annual
refit including a complete hull repaint. We took this opportunity to
remove all Coastal Patrol signage in preparation for the new MRNSW
livery. I’ve got to say that after being with her for ten years, she sure
looks strange. Yes, she does have Rego numbers, and yes, ALL of the
fender rubbers have been replaced. (See photo in Photo Gallery P21).
Our new management team has adapted well and my congratulations
go to Unit Commander Graham Brown for his leadership.
Boating Industry Association of NSW Ltd
& Marine Industry Mechanical Repairers Association
53 Hume Street CROWS NEST NSW 2065
PO Box 1204 CROWS NEST 1585
Phone: (02) 9438 2077 | Fax: (02) 9439 3983
Email: info@bia.org.au | www.bia.org.au
Finally, welcome to our new mates from the VRA and Coast Guard.
For those of you who are not aware, we have a brilliant working
relationship with Narooma VRA Marine, who handle the retrieval of
persons overboard on the Narooma Bar.
Ian Scott
Narooma
39
Rescue
Sunday at
St Michael’s
Newport
On September 20, for the second consecutive
year, Rev. Jason Ramsay, Rector of St. Michael’s
Anglican Church at Newport on Sydney’s
Northern Beaches, conducted a Rescue
Sunday Service.
Mackay Yacht Brokerage
RA Mackay Yacht Brokerage is the established boat
brokerage on Lake Macquarie dealing in all used
boats and the new range of US built Catalina Yachts.
As a Club Marine Insurance Agent, they can also
provide reinsurance and presale valuations, and
finance when needed.
For professional and personal service when buying
or selling, contact the office on 02 4950 5706.
Synergy
Spirulina
Synergy Spirulina is a
remarkable aquatic plant that
stores and converts large
amounts of solar power into
precious bioavailable protein,
vitamins, minerals, enzymes.
In fact, it is absorbed
16x better than synthetic
supplements. Use spirulina
as a nutritional gap-fill for any diet and gain more
energy, improve immunity and focus.
Visit: www.synergynatural.com.
Left to right: Rev. Jason Ramsay, St Michael’s Anglican
Church Newport; Rob Stokes MP, NSW Member for
Pittwater; the Hon Bronwyn Bishop MP, Federal Member
for Mackellar; Commander Vic Lawrence, Coastal
Patrol Broken Bay and Frank Haviland, Coastal Patrol
Terrey Hills.
The purpose of this special celebration was to acknowledge
the work done by volunteers who give their time and often risk
their lives to save others. Rev. Ramsay considered it fitting to
acknowledge the marine volunteers with a special Service and to
pray for God’s blessing on them, on their work, and for their safety.
Coastal Patrol was represented by Commander Vic Lawrence of
Broken Bay Division and Frank Haviland, Marine Radio Safety
Service Officer of Terrey Hills Division, represented Division
Commander Ron Woosey.
The day of celebration was followed by a barbeque lunch.
Rev. Ramsay said that it was his intention to widen his invitation
list next year to include other bases of Marine Rescue NSW in this
special day of thanksgiving and celebration.
Valerie McLean
Terrey Hills
Smart Skippers are Bright at Night
Navigating at night requires special care and attention.
Vessels operating at night, whether under way or at anchor,
must carry and exhibit the correct navigation lights. It is
crucial that the lights on vessels are placed and displayed
appropriate to the size and class of the vessel.
Marine Rescue NSW supports Smart Skippers
who know the rules and stick to them.
· Marine project management
· Consulting
· Vessel inspections and superintendence
· Crewing and payroll services
· Navigation and routing
recommendations
· Offshore services
· Port agency
· Port infrastructure assessments
· Safety and emergency
response support
· Vessel construction supervision
· Crude and product tankers
· Floating Storage and Offtake (FSO) vessels
· Gas carriers
· Chemical and pitch carriers
· Bulk carriers
· Self-discharging vessels
· Towage and service vessels
· Roll on-Roll off
· Specialised vessels
/8)-$8##
+*+-!$1
- #)23
" !
(&'
9(&'
.*" !#,!$
###!$SOUNDINGS
MARINE RESCUE NSW Issue 1 Dec 09
41

Issue 1 - December 2009

Transcription

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